1

Statistics Department

Chief Economist Complex Bulletin No. 3, January 2012

This third issue of the Bulletin focuses on progress made in executing the Action Plan to Improve Statistics

for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture, and Rural Development in Africa between May and December

2011. The issue reports on key activities undertaken during this period. The Bulletin can also be accessed online

at the website of the African Development Bank (www.afdb.org/documents/publications/).

I. OVERVIEW

This Bulletin presents progress made in the

execution of the “Action Plan to Improve Statistics

for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture, and

Rural Development in Africa” since the second

issue was published in May 2011. It reports on the

various activities undertaken since that time and

presents the next steps in the implementation of

the Action Plan.

II. PROGRESS MADE SINCE THE LAST

BULLETIN

Major achievements include: (i) Production and

distribution of the document “Improving Statistics

for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture, and

Rural Development – Action Plan for Africa (2011–

2015)”; (ii) Holding of the 1st Regional Steering

Committee meeting (RSTC) in Tunis in July 2011;

(iii) Preparations and documentation compiled for

Country Assessments; (iv) Meeting of resource

partners held in Rome in September 2011, (v) The

22nd Session of AFCAS (African Commission for

Agricultural Statistics), held at the end of

November/ beginning of December 2011 in Addis

Ababa, (vi) Data collection system, and (vii) other

related activities.

Launch of the document: “Improving Statistics for

Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture, and Rural

Development – Action Plan for Africa (2011–

2015)”

The English version of the “Action Plan for Africa

(2011–2015)” (both long and short formats) was

finalized and printed in May 2011 by AfDB and is

being widely distributed among key stakeholders in

African countries and international agencies and

organizations. It should be noted that the

formulation of standalone proposals was funded by

the AfDB and BMGF (Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation). The Action Plan is intended to be the

main reference material for countries and donors

alike in their efforts to develop and strengthen

statistics for food security, sustainable agriculture,

and rural development in Africa over the next five

years. It has been also translated into French

(under the auspices of the AfDB), for distribution to

all French-speaking stakeholders. Plans are

underway to produce a related CD ROM and eBook

of both language versions (English and French). The

English version can be accessed online through the

following link:

www.afdb.org/documents/publications/.

Improving Statistics for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development

An Action Plan for Africa (2011–2015)

2011-2015

Improving Statistics for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development Bulletin No. 3, January 2012

2

1st Regional Steering Committee (RSTC) meeting,

July 2011

The Action Plan provides for a Regional Steering

Committee (RSTC) as the apex decision-making

body. The Committee, which includes both users

and producers of statistics, comes under the high-

level stewardship of the Chief Economist and Vice-

President of AfDB as its Chairperson. The

Committee held its first meeting in Tunis, Tunisia

on July 12–13, 2011. A number of key decisions to

drive forward the implementation of the Action

Plan were reached at this meeting (see Box 1).

Box 1: Main decision points and recommendations of the 1st

RSTC meeting

Recast Terms of Reference (TOR) for the RSTC and the Executive Committee (EC) were approved. The Executive

Committee, which comprises a smaller body of the three lead organizations (AfDB, ECA, and FAO), acts as the bureau

for the RSTC.

Countries will be represented on the RSTC on a regional basis (5 subregions: West, East, South, Central, and North),

with rotations every two years. RSTC membership of the Friends of the Chair (Morocco, Uganda, Ethiopia, Senegal) of

the UN Statistical Commission will remain in place over the next two years.

The single training center representative will be rotated every two years.

Implementing agencies will prepare and submit to the Regional Secretariat their respective annual work plans related

to the components that fall under their remit.

Country proposals, which will be prepared after the country assessments have been produced, will be approved by

the EC, acting on behalf of the RSTC.

Wherever possible, countries will participate in common crosscutting activities. However, some selected countries

will participate in other activities, based on identified priority areas (country-specific activities).

Arrangements will be made to set up an Executive Sub-Committee on agricultural statistics within the African Group

on Statistical Training (AGROST). The Sub-Committee will be responsible for regular supervision and monitoring of the

training component, in accordance with the provisions of the Action Plan.

Country ownership and sustainability of the Scholarship Program will be ensured through country

participation/contribution to the training costs (for example, 75% and 25% respectively from donors and the recipient

country).

Specific assessments of training centers’ capacities and needs should be undertaken.

The number of pilot countries participating in country assessments should take account of national specificities (e.g.

whether this is characterized by a nomadic livestock system; preponderance of small/large-scale farms, etc.), and

start with light and quick country assessments. On the basis of the ensuing results, an in-depth assessment should be

carried out for the purpose of preparing National Action Plans.

The AfDB should determine the best modality to establish a Regional Trust Fund, with all lead partners (AfDB, FAO,

and ECA) indicating their contribution levels.

It was noted that AfDB is already using its own resources for funding some critical activities. These include the

preparation/consolidation, printing and publication of the Action Plan for Africa (both long and brief versions), the

appointment of the Regional Coordinator, the organization of the first RSTC meeting, and the concept note and

framework for the country assessments.

It was appreciated that the AfDB is ready to start field-testing country assessment instruments and to initiate the

assessments themselves.

Improving Statistics for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development Bulletin No. 3, January 2012

3

Preparations for country assessments

The Action Plan for Africa provides for the

undertaking of country assessments, to determine

national statistical capacity and needs. This is a

necessary first step in order to:

(i) Establish the baselines against which targets

can be set and performance measured;

(ii) Draw up a comprehensive Technical

Assistance program for Africa, covering also

training and research; and

(iii) Establish a monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

system to measure changes in the level of

statistical capacity over time.

A questionnaire designed jointly by the AfDB and

the FAO and customized to Africa’s specificities was

successfully piloted in Ghana, Rwanda, and

Uganda. The questionnaire covers three modules,

collecting information in different areas, namely (i)

the National Statistical System; (ii) ongoing

statistical activities and constraints; and (iii) the

agricultural sector. Based on lessons learned as a

result of the pilot, the questionnaire has been

revised, finalized, and translated into French. Other

country assessment instruments being developed

include: a manual/guidelines; tabulation and

analysis plans; and a web-based data collection and

processing system.

The launching and training workshop on the

country assessment implementation is scheduled

to take place during the first quarter of this year

and will be hosted by the National Institute of

Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), in Kigali.

Meeting of resource partners in Rome, September

2011

A meeting of resource partners was held on

September 28, 2011 at FAO Headquarters in Rome,

Italy, in support of the implementation of the

“Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural

Statistics” and the detailed Action Plan for Africa.

The meeting explored ways of mobilizing the

required resources, in particular, the creation of a

Regional Trust Fund for Africa and a Global Trust

Fund to support the implementation of the

Strategy in all remaining regions and its

coordination at the global level. The meeting

endorsed the Africa Action Plan of the Global

Strategy. A number of key partners expressed their

readiness to provide substantial funds to the

Global Strategy and related Action Plans. These

included BMGF and DfID-UK, in addition to in-kind

contributions from implementing agencies.

Implementing agencies used this opportunity to

hold side meetings (on September 27 and 29,

2011), with key donors to discuss possible

financing arrangements. Topics included the global

decision-making structure and optimum ways to

manage financial flows, as well as the required

integrated budget. The meeting documentation

can be accessed online at:

http://www.fao.org/index.php?id=27156.

The 22nd Session of AFCAS (African Commission

for Agricultural Statistics), November/December

2011

The Action Plan for Africa and its implementation

strategy, including the country assessments, were

presented and discussed at the 22nd Session of

AFCAS, which was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,

from November 30 to December 3, 2011.

AFCAS brings together senior statistics officials

from FAO member countries of the African

continent, who are responsible for the

development of agricultural statistics in their

respective countries. The 22nd Session endorsed

the Action Plan for Africa and framed a number of

important resolutions, as detailed in Box 2.

Improving Statistics for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development Bulletin No. 3, January 2012

4

Box 2: Main decision points and recommendations of the 22nd Session of AFCAS

The Commission:

a) Endorsed and noted with satisfaction the progress made in developing and implementing the “Action Plan for Africa to

Improve Statistics for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development” for its potential to address

constraints in the availability of agricultural statistics.

b) Highly appreciated the support and contribution of development partners in the implementation of the Action Plan for

Africa of the Global Strategy.

c) Recommended that the partnership for the Africa Action Plan of the Global Strategy be broadened to include more

institutions, such as the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Food Policy Research Institute

(IFPRI), Economic and Statistical Observatory of Sub-Saharan Africa (AFRISTAT), and the Consultative Group on

International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), so that their work might contribute to the success of the Global Strategy.

d) Recommended that cost of production and post-harvest losses be prioritized in the research topics of the Action Plan

for Africa of the Global Strategy.

e) Recommended that on-the-job training be emphasized during the implementation phase of the training component of

the Action Plan for Africa of the Global Strategy.

f) Recommended that countries strongly support the effective implementation of the Action Plan for Africa of the Global

Strategy, starting with the country assessments.

g) Highly appreciated and supported the initiative to be implemented by AFRISTAT to develop training modules for non-

statisticians, beginning in 2012.

Data collection system

The Statistics department of the Bank is revamping its current data compilation system. This entails the development of a new web-based tool that will harmonize and facilitate data collection from countries, as well as the management and dissemination of information through the common AfDB Data Portal. With the new tool, it will be possible for users to (i) prepare standard templates for each sector/survey that will be used by countries, and (ii) receive electronically (by email or through the website) and in real time country-reported data.

The tool will significantly reduce the time that the

Bank spends on data input and management, while

also minimizing possible data input errors and

improving the data quality, as a result of the robust

validation process and rules put in place.

Other related activities

Other related activities during the period May to

December 2011 included: (i) the launch of the

Quarterly Bulletin on Food Security Situation in Africa,

published by the AfDB; and (ii) the maintenance and

updating of AfDB’s dedicated Data Portal for the food

security situation in Africa. These initiatives are

elaborated below.

Improving Statistics for Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development Bulletin No. 3, January 2012

5

The maiden issue of the Quarterly Bulletin on the

Food Security Situation in Africa was published in

June 2011 and presented an overview of recent trends

in food prices, both globally and in Africa, as well as

undernourishment and food supply/availability data. It

also discussed food security issues in Africa from a

broader perspective. Available online at:

www.afdb.org/documents/publications/.

The second issue of the Bulletin, published in

November 2011, focused on the food security

situation in the Horn of Africa, where drought,

insecurity and the displacement of huge numbers of

population have resulted in a humanitarian crisis

requiring a global emergency response. Available

online at:

www.afdb.org/documents/publications/

The Food Security Data Portal that was launched by

the AfDB in May 2011 continues to be regularly

updated. It provides vital information on such issues

as population numbers and distribution (urban/rural);

food availability and accessibility; hunger and

malnutrition levels, agricultural inputs; and an Early

Warning Information System (EWIS) for cereal

products. In this way, it serves as the prime

information source for the preparation of the AfDB’s

quarterly Food Security Bulletin. The data used in its

compilation emanate from both national and

international sources.

To take data dissemination to a new level, the Bank

launched its “Open Data for Africa” platform in

December 2011 aimed at significantly increasing

access to quality data from various national, regional

& international sources. The platform will serve as a

knowledge center for collecting, accessing, and

sharing data, including emerging development topics

such as food security and climate change. More details

can be found at: www.afdb.org/statistics.

III. NEXT STEPS

Over the next few months, the following activities will

be undertaken by the AfDB, in close collaboration with

other implementation agencies and regional member

countries, to initiate and accelerate the Action Plan for

Africa:

Country assessments

Launch of the country assessment exercise;

Training data collectors in collection methods,

processing and analysis;

In-depth assessments, resulting in the

development of County Profiles and National

Action Plans for improving agricultural statistics;

and

Establishing M&E baseline information.

Integration of agricultural statistics into the NSDS

Establishing those countries where the National

Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS)

is not sector-based, with special reference to the

agricultural sector;

Organizing a workshop on how to integrate

agriculture into the NSDS;

Providing technical assistance to selected

countries to integrate agriculture into their NSDS.

CONTACT DETAILS: Statistical Capacity Building Division Statistics Department, Chief Economist Complex African Development Bank Group BP 323 - 1002 Tunis Belvédère - Tunisia Tel.: +216 71 10 36 43 / Fax: +216 71 10 37 43 E-mail: statistics@.afdb.org Web: www.afdb.org/statistics